Clinton Foundation

The Clinton Foundation (renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a charity that is exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Tax Code. It was established by former President of the United States Bill Clinton with the stated mission to build and maintain the Clinton Presidential Library in Little RockArkansas, but has since shifted its focus allegedly to "strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence"[1] which may be a violation of the US tax code. Its acting CEO is Kevin Thurm, and its offices are located in New York City and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Critics view the foundation as an international criminal organization with ties to the Russianmafia.[2] It is an elaborate global slush fund and money laundering operation with sloppy accounting,[3] poor public disclosure, and dubious mission related activities.[4] It has been referred to as a parallel government.[5] Originally founded in 1997 under the name the William J. Clinton Foundation[6] for the purposes of building and maintaining the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, the organization has by some estimates handled as much as $100 Billion in cash inflows and outflows. The fund currently has an estimated $350 Million in assets. Clinton supporters, however, claim that it coordinates important efforts against disease and poverty.[7]

Financial disclosures

There are three major ways that the Clinton Foundation discloses its finances. First, the Foundation makes annual filings with the Internal Revenue Service, portions of which are public.[7] Second, because the Foundation is in New York State, it files with the NYS Public Charity Division. Third, as a result of an agreement between the Foundation and the Obama Administration, the foundation promised to post a list of its donors on its website while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. The Foundation has filed inconsistent data with the three sources.

According to two prominent charity watchdog organizations who analyzed the IRS returns, the Clinton Foundation has engaged in questionable fundraising and reporting practices with less than 10% of the money raised going to its stated mission purposes such as AIDS treatment, education, and healthcare in poverty-stricken nations.[8]

In 2013, the Clinton Foundation took in more than $140 million, but spent only $9 million on its mission purposes, far below the 75 percent rate a good charity should spend. The Clinton Foundation reported the bulk of its income spent on administration, travel, salaries, and bonuses with the largest payouts going to family friends.[9]

In 2008 when Hillary Clinton was nominated to be Secretary of State, the Clinton Foundation disclosed for the first time its list of donors, many of whom were foreign entities and governments seeking to do business with the United States which the Secretary of State would have to approve. The foundation pledged not to receive any further foreign government contributions, which it abruptly violated. Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic Presidential nominee has now come under criminal investigation for influence peddling among other charges.

For three years in a row beginning in 2010, the Clinton Foundation reported to the IRS that it received zero in funds from foreign and U.S. governments, a dramatic fall-off from the tens of millions of dollars in foreign government contributions reported in preceding years.
Those entries were errors, according to the foundation: several foreign governments continued to give tens of millions of dollars[10]

The first red flag went up in 1997 when the William J. Clinton Foundation was created as a public charity; the Clinton Presidential Library is unique among Presidential Libraries in that it was not founded as a private charity, which is subject to more stringent IRS oversite and regulation and limited as to how broadly it can solicit funds.[14]

Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center has lobbied Congress to ban federal officeholders from getting involved with foundations and other tax-exempt groups. By operating outside disclosure rules, the foundation gives foreign donors an avenue to influence elections.[15][16]

The Clinton Foundation has also been described as a parallel government. Of course, a younger generation not schooled in the particulars of Nixon's crimes do not see what is galling about the Clinton Global Initiative to those of us who lived through the Nixon presidency.

2005–2006

The Clinton Foundation accepted donations from Textron, Inc. Textron, Inc. is a Rhode Island-headquartered Fortune 500 conglomerate, from whose PAC Clinton took money in 2005 and 2006. Textron was fined by the SEC for bribing Saddam Hussein's government during the lead-up to the Iraq War,[17] and is a major manufacturer of cluster bombs, which yield high rates of civilian casualties.
[18]

Memorandum of understanding

In Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearings Senators Richard Lugar and John Kerry expressed concern for the potential of conflict of interest in exercising her role as Secretary of State while her husband, Mr. Bill Clinton, solicited funds from foreign entities and governments for the Clinton Foundation in anticipation of her inevitable 2016 presidential bid.[19]

On 12 December 2008 Clinton Foundation’s chairman of the board, Bruce Lindsey, signed a Memorandum of Understanding[20] with Valerie Jarrett, co-chair of President-elect Obama’s transition team. The document provided that “During any service by Senator Clinton as Secretary of State, the Foundation will publish annually the names of all new contributors.” [21]

For three years in a row beginning in 2010, the Clinton Foundation reported to the IRS that it received zero in funds from foreign and U.S. governments, a dramatic fall-off from the tens of millions of dollars in foreign government contributions reported in preceding years[22]

Reuters news agency discovered that the Clinton Foundation filed incorrect disclosures with the IRS. As a result of Reuters reporting, the Foundation admitted that its IRS filings from 2010 through 2013 are not accurate. During Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State, the foundation received grants from some foreign governments which totaled $18 million. The foundation operated in at least 29 countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Ukraine, Haiti, Mozambique, China and South Africa.[23]

Pay to play

Russian uranium deal

While Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, the Obama Administration approved a deal that allowed a Russian government enterprise to control one-fifth of all uranium producing capacity in the United States. The deal was also approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a requirement that all of the uranium mined in the US be sold to US electric utilities.[24] Rosatom, the Russian company, acquired Uranium One, a Canadian firm previously controlled by Frank Giustra (pron. Ju-stra). Giustra is a Friend of Bill (FOB) and member of the Clinton Foundation Board. Giustra then donated over $130 million to the Clinton Foundation. However, Guistra had sold his interest in Uranium One years before Rosatom proposed to buy it.[25]

Pay day: Bill Clinton in Moscow to pick up a $500,000 bribe for his wife Hillary Clinton's approval of the Russian purchase of an American uranium mining company.

Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the ObamaWhite House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.

And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech ... The $500,000 fee — among Mr. Clinton’s highest — was paid by Renaissance Capital, a Russian investment bank with ties to the Kremlin ...Renaissance Capital analysts talked up Uranium One’s stock, assigning it a “buy” rating and saying in a July 2010 research report that it was “the best play” in the uranium markets.... Putin personally thanked Mr. Clinton for speaking.[28]

“Tenex was the single largest supplier of U.S. energy through the 'megatons for megawatts' agreement of the 1990s. The pending expiration of that agreement and the scale of the market opportunity in the U.S. (exemplified by the Obama Administration’s decision to extend loan guarantees) meant that Tenex would need to compete in a new market on standard commercial terms,” APCO’s Kraus said in her statement to The Hill.[29]

Between 2010 and 2012, Rosatom reported in its annual reports that it had scored more than $10 billion in new uranium sales agreements with U.S firms during the Russian Reset.

APCO Worldwide

APCO Worldwide, a global communications firm that lobbied on behalf of Rosatom and it's American subsidiary Tenex at the time of the Uranium One deal, vastly understated its support for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The Hill discovered APCO provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in pro-bono services and in-kind contributions which APCO reported, but CGI did not. In the fall of 2011 APCO’s lists in-kind contribution at $275,000, and the annual report submitted to the United Nations Global Compact, boasted “APCO significantly increased its pro-bono support for CGI and, for the first time, our team managed the press around CGI’s America meeting, as well as its global Annual Meeting."

At the time APCO was paid $3 million by Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear company. Rosatom paid APCO to lobby the State Department and other federal agencies on behalf of Tenex, which sought to increase uranium business inside federal agencies and Congress. APCO made more than 50 contacts with federal and congressional figures for Tenex, including at least 10 involving senior officials inside the Clinton State Department in 2010 and 2011. The contacts ranged from “promoting US-Russian civilian nuclear partnership” to attempts at freeing Russia from “anti-dumping” restrictions imposed on its uranium business.

APCO Executive Director Kent Jarrell claimed the company had little contact with Vadim Mikerin, director of Tenex, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to a corruption charge stemming from the FBI bribery probe. Jarrell said APCO dealt mostly with Rosatom oligarchs, who also were subjects of the FBI's extortion and money-laundering investigation. The firm promoted a U.S. visit in 2011 by former Russian Prime Minister Sergey Kirienko, who then as the top official at Rosatom.

Mikerin was tasked with forming Tenex’s new American office called Tenam. APCO’s lobbying records show the firm helped create a Web site for Tenam and a press release announcing the new American subsidiary. An invite list provided to the FBI by a confidential informant shows APCO executives attended the grand opening celebration of Tenam's office in suburban Washington in October 2010.

APCO officials estimate their total cash donations to CGI totaled $45,600 and their in-kind support to CGI exceeded $1 million since 2008. They also acknowledged that the firm’s pro-bono work increased significantly in 2011 while it worked for Tenex. Pro-bono work involved providing free media support to CGI for various events and activities as well as to the other non-governmental organizations that made charitable commitments under the Clinton brand.

William Campbell, the FBI's confidential informant in the Uranium One scandal, informed Congress that he was told by top Russian officials that APCO was hired specifically because it had close connections to the Obama administration and the Clintons. “His Russian counterparts made clear to him they valued APCO’s connections to the Clinton Global Initiative and expected it to grow while the firm was working for Tenex,” Campbell's attorney Victoria Toensing said. “And he reported those conversations back to the FBI.”

Hillary Clinton and staff considered at least one APCO lobbyist, former career ambassador Elizabeth Jones, for two top jobs. “At Friday's meeting, Hillary made clear Beth Jones was her first choice for Ambassador to Iraq. Since I don't know her, we agreed that I should meet with her today or tomorrow,” Defense SecretaryRobert Gates wrote Clinton confidant John Podesta in a 2009 email. Clinton’s top aides successfully vetted her in 2011 to become a special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan

Rossiya/Boeing

In 2010, Boeing landed a deal with the Russian airline Rossiya worth $3.7 billion. Two months later, the company donated $900,000 to the Clinton Foundation. Boeing also paid Bill Clinton $250,000 for a speech in 2012 approved by the State Department’s Ethics Office.

Boeing’s chief lobbyist and former Bill Clinton aide Tim Keating hosted a fundraiser for Ready for Hillary PAC, the political action committee raising money to help fund a run for the White House.[30] Ready for Hillary PAC founder Tom Mostyn was found dead of a gunshot wound in November 2017.

Saudia Arabia and the Gulf States

The Clinton Foundation also received donations from countries that Secretary Hillary Clinton oversaw the transfer of weapons to.[31][32][33][34] While working in the State Department the Clinton Foundation received millions from an organization known as The Friends of Saudi Arabia.[35]

By the end of the first decade of the 21st century the Clinton Foundation received millions from an organization known as the Friends of Saudi Arabia.[35] With the theft of government records, and the admission Hillary scrubbed the server, the exact extent of a conflict of interest and other violations of law at present is unclear.[12][13]

Arms sales

As Sec. Clinton approved weapons transfers, both Saudi Arabia Boeing aircraft made donations to the Clinton Foundation. The Washington Post revealed that a Boeing lobbyist was also working as a fundraiser in the early stages of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.[36]

Boeing F15 fighters

Early in her tenure the $29.4 Billion sale and upgrades of Boeing F15 fighter aircraft was a 'top priority'. The Saudi air campaign in Yemen has been led by American-made F-15 fighter jets. According to the United Nations at least 2,800 civilians have been killed in airstrikes so far.[37] Three facilities supported by Doctors Without Borders have been bombed.

Chemical weapons

Emails reveal after the Kingdom of Bahrain donated $150,000 directly to the Clinton Foundation, plus another $32 million to the Clinton Global Initiative,[38] Hillary approved $630 million worth of direct arms sales to Bahrain's military, which included $700,000 for toxicological agents which were then used against the Gulf State's nation's own people, including women protestors demonstrating for women's rights.[39]

Blackwater

Five Blackwater guards were indicted by a U.S. grand jury on manslaughter and weapons charges stemming from a 2007 incident in Baghdad in which 17 Iraqis died. There was a huge public outcry not to renew Blackwater's contract. A donation of $10,000 to $25,000 was reported in late 2008; the State Department awarded a contract with a Blackwater subsidiary shortly after Sec. Clinton took office.[40][41][42]

Laureate International Universities

Between 2010 and 2014 partially overlapping Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State, Bill Clinton made $16.5 million for his role as honorary chancellor of Laureate Education, a for-profit college company.[43] The State Department funneled $55 million in grants during Hillary Clinton’s tenure to groups associated with Laureate’s founder. The International Youth Federation, an organization connected to Laureate chairman Douglas Becker, received USAID funding.[44] Becker is a major donor to the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation.[45][46]

In her first year as Secretary of State, Hillary is quoted as directly asking that Becker be included in a high-profile policy dinner — just months before Laureate gave the lucrative contract to Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton later references “Laureate Universities, started by Doug Becker who Bill likes a lot".[47] “It’s a for-profit model that should be represented,” she wrote in the August 2009 email.[48][49][50]

Raj Fernando

Raj Fernando was appointed a seat on the State Department's International Security Advisory Board with a $250,000 donation to the Clinton Foundation. Fernando has no known association with the U.S. Intelligence Community nor expertise in national security affairs. Fernando also served as a 2016 unelected superdelegate for Hillary Clinton to the Democratic Convention.[51]

Union Bank of Switzerland

UBS, one of the world's largest banks, was fined $780,000,000 in February 2009 in a U.S. Federal Court on charges it helped thousands of Americans evade taxes.[52] The Department of Justice and the IRS were the lead agencies. After Sec. Clinton intervened, donations to the Clinton Foundation increased tenfold from $60,000 to $600,000. Additionally, Bill Clinton collected $1.5 million in speaking fees from UBS.[53]

Credit Agricole

Credit Agricole — which in 2015 paid more than $780 million to settle U.S. allegations it violated sanctions against Cuba, Iran, and Burma — does not appear on the Clinton Foundation’s $1 million-plus donor disclosure list at all. But Foundation officials said the French firm’s donations began in 2006. They acknowledged the financial institution’s free rent saved CGI millions of dollars in expenses over the years.

Audits

2013

On its 2013 tax return the foundation claimed it spent $30 million on payroll and employee benefits; $8.7 million in rent and office expenses; $9.2 million on “conferences, conventions and meetings”; $8 million on fundraising; and nearly $8.5 million on travel. The Clintons enjoy first-class flights paid for by the foundation.

In all, the foundation reported $84.6 million in “functional expenses” on its 2013 tax return and had more than a $64 million remaining balance.

2016 revised filings

For tax year 2013, nearly 100 percent of the $4.4 million of the government donations came from foreign governments. Only $23,000 came from U.S. government entities, according to some of the foundations revised tax filings.[54]

2017

In August 2017, Charity Navigator gave the Clinton Foundation a 93.91 rating (out of 100).[55]